In the Methodist Church as well as others, June is Bible Month. We use the month of June to study, pray and prepare some of our worship based on a book from the Bible.
This year, we are spending 30 days with the Gospel of Mark.
Lots of my observations resonated with the strange year we have all experienced and speak to us about how we can move forward.
I think many of us have realised how the lives we led prior to March 2020 were lacking and how we were perhaps considering the wrong things important and neglecting those that really add value and fulfilment to our lives.
Mark particularly talks about discipleship and following Jesus. Over the last 15 months, we have had to work in different ways to be welcoming and show the love of Christ to people.
Across the town we have been blessed to see an army of volunteers in vaccination centres, delivering food and prescriptions, being a friendly voice at the end of the telephone.
Many of these people are Christian, many not.
The overriding theme is people who step out of their comfort zone to share love, grace and charity to others when life has no doubt been tough for them.
It would be amazing to think that these habits and desire to help others continues as we move out of lockdown and towards a new normal. Putting others first and sharing love and grace with one another whether or not we do so in God’s name or not.
Today as I walked through Peach Place there was a new ‘buzz’ and a real sense of community and fellowship as people enjoyed the long awaited sun. It was a joy to see so many people embracing the outdoors and cherishing time together.
In our churches, many of our activities have been put on hold, Churches Together in Wokingham have been very pleased to be able to support the work of the vaccination centre.
We now look forward to stepping out in faith to support our community and the many groups who use our towns churches as we move forward with a clearer understanding of what people really need… kindness and love
Claire Knight is Church & Community Outreach Team Leader for Wokingham Methodist Church, writing on behalf of Churches Together in Wokingham
